Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation · Seattle, WA United States

You don't have to be one of the world's richest men to make a difference with your charitable gifts -- but it helps. Established by the chairman of Microsoft and his wife, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works in developing countries to improve health and reduce poverty and in the US to support education and libraries nationwide and children and families in the Pacific Northwest. With an endowment of about $29.5 billion in 2009 (down from $38 billion in 2007), the foundation is the largest in the US. Investor Warren Buffett has announced plans to give the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation about $30 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway stock in installments, the first of which was received in 2006. To read the full description, subscribe now.